Abraham kimber



(No Model.)

A. KI'MBER. MAIL BAG GATG-HER.

No. 537,292. Patented Apr. 9, 1895.

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in aJJeJ I Ens co, PHOTO-LI ery of the pouch within the car and upon the 7 U ITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE ABRAHAM KIMBER, OFv INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

MAlL-BAG C'ATCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,292, dated April 9, 1895.

Application filed April 30, 1 89;.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ABRAHAM KIMBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and use; ful Improvements in Mail-Bag Catchers; and

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for delivering mailpouches from the railway station to postal cars while the latterare in rapid motion, and for insuring the automatic and certain delivfioor of said car without tearing or otherwise damaging the pouch during said operation and without injuring the maiLmatter within the poiich.

The apparatus in common use in the railway mail service is objectionable because it frequently fails to seize the mail pouch or afterward drops it before it can be secured by the postal clerk; also because it injures the pouch and contents by the manner in which it is made to grasp the same; At no time does the apparatus now in use deliver the pouch within the car but holds it suspended across a bar at the open door of the car until removed by the clerk, and as stated, it frequently is dislodged and lost before it is removed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which are made a part hereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a railway train showing the front end of a postal car equipped with the portion of my apparatus belonging thereto, and the other portion thereof consisting in a mail crane of common form, being also shown in perspective alongside the track. The several parts are shown in position ready to deliver the mail pouch into the car. Fig.-2 is a detail in horizontal sectional view of the front end of the postal car showing the apparatus along side the track in top plan. This figure shows the apparatus of the car set ready to grasp and deliver the pouch into the car. Fig. 3 is a detail in side ,view of the door of a postal car equipped with my apparatus and showing the Serial No. 509,432. (No man.)

same in its closed position immediately after delivering the pouch, the latter being shown within the car in the drawing, Fig. 4,a detail in elevation, of the crane used at the station for supporting the mail-pouch, the view'being taken looking in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2; Fig. 5,a modified construction showing a flat elongated spring for closing thedoorlike plate and shows said plate hinged directly to the side of the car.

In the drawings the portion marked A represents the postal car which in itself may be of any usual or desired construction.

' ;The portion marked B represents the crane to support the mail pouch in proper position to be operated on by myimproved delivering mechanism, andmaybe of ,the same design as now employed for that purpose or of any other suitable construction placed in proper position alongsidethe-track. I a

Q is a plate which will be constructed preferably of boiler iron and will be hinged at one ;of,,its ends to the rear side 9f the door frame of the postalcar, so\ the.front end of the plate ean beopened outwardly and the plate: made to form a chute which will incline inwardly and toward'the rear. The vertical position of this plate will correspond with the position above the track, of the mail pouch when supported by the crane, and the vertical width of the plate will correspond approximately with the length of the pouch. When the plate is opened out into its operative position its lateral projection will be sufficient to embrace the pouch which will be withdrawn from its fastenings on the crane by the inclination of theplate and the forward movement of the car, and will form a chute leading into the car along which the pouch will be hurried by the momentum of the rapidly moving train. By making the vertical width of the plate equal to the length of the pouch, the force of impact between the plate and the pouch will be equally distributed throughout the entire sack and not delivered solely at its middle, as heretofore. In the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the plate 0 is secured to a vertical shaft D having reduced toes at its upper and lower ends, whichenter.

a spring e, of sufficient strength to keep the.

plate always closed, except when the tension of the spring is overcome by the postal clerk in adjusting the mechanism for the delivery of the mail pouch.

F is a brace bar loosely hinged at one end to the front side of the door frame and adapted to be placed'with its free end against the plate, so as to form a brace or prop to hold the plate open until it is struck by the incoming mail pouch, when it will be disengaged and will drop out of the way into the position shown in Fig. 3, allowing the plate to close by the action of the spring a.

To prevent the too free action of the bar F in disengaging itself from the plate, the end of the bar may be suitably pointed and made to enter a detent in the plate. Where the same coach is run backward as well as forward it will be necessary to provide sockets on both sides of the door and to change the position of the plate to correspond with the direction of the movement of the train. These extra sockets are shown at c.

The fastenings whereby the pouch is secured to the arms of the crane are shaped so as to allow the ready release of the pouch and the pouch will be held taut by means of a spring introduced as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, or by pivoting one of the arms and properly weighting it in the well known manner.

Instead of hinging the plate by means of a vertical shaft entering sockets in the sills of the door, the plate may be hinged directly to the side of the car by means of strap hinge or any other suitable hinge; also instead of a bar and a spring to actuate the bar in pressing against the plate, other styles of springs and applications thereof may be employed without departing from the spirit of this invention. My device in fact is operative without any spring at all by simply maintaining the plate at an angle in a fixed position, which may be done by means of a stay chain or by a bar connecting it with the door frame.

I claim- 1. The combination with a railway coach of a plate hinged thereto so as to cover all or a portion of an opening into said coach said plate being adapted to be moved on its hinges into an outwardly and forwardly diverging position with relation to the coach, a spring to force the plate back and hold it in a closed position and means consisting of a barorother device to hold the plate in its outward adj ustment until liberated by the action of the incoming pouch, substantially as described and for the purposes specified.

2. The coach A having a door in the side thereof, a plate C, hinged to the rear casing of said door and adapted to swing in an outward direction, a spring actuated bar E to bear against the outside of the plate so as to close same and abar or prop F bearing against the front door casing and against the plate when the latter is open but adapted to be easily displaced, all combined to operate substantially in the manner as described and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABRAHAM KIMBER.

WVitnesses:

JOSEPH A. MINTURN, J. D. GEORGE. 

